Takaesu Soba

Okinawa has a local dish named “Yushi-dofu”. It is soft tofu with a fluffy texture when bittern is added to soy milk and it has just started to harden. Locals use it in various dishes, such as soup with soup stock or as an ingredient of cooked rice called “juicy”.

Once, someone thought, “Why not use yushi-dofu as an ingredient for Okinawan soba noodles? There was once a restaurant that came up with the idea of using yushi-dofu as an ingredient in Okinawan soba noodles. Yushi-dofu Soba has now become a major presence in Okinawa, and the restaurant has become famous as the “originator of Yushi-dofu Soba,” with customers lining up even before the restaurant opens, even in the slow-paced Okinawa of today.

During my visit to Naha, Okinawa, I really wanted to try the original Yushi-dofu Soba, so I woke up early one morning and went to Takaesu Soba, the birthplace of Yushi-dofu Soba. Actually, I had been to this restaurant about three years ago during my visit to Okinawa…

The restaurant may be sold out and closed even before closing time! I recommend visiting Takaesu Soba as early as possible. 

When I visited Takaesu Soba three years ago, the restaurant was closed even though it was still before closing time. The reason is that this restaurant is located in Iso, Urasoe City, about an hour’s bus ride from Naha Airport. That day, I flew to Naha in the morning and took the Yui Rail and bus to the restaurant without checking in at the hotel. There was still enough time before the official closing time, but the store closed early because they were sold out. So, I decided to visit the restaurant before the opening time, thinking, “This time, I will definitely visit early…”.

I took a bus bound for Ginowan from the Asahibashi bus terminal and arrived at the restaurant about 20 minutes before opening time. I got a safe pole position and sat on a bench next to the entrance and waited for the store to open. At this time of the day, the store staff would normally be getting ready for the opening, but it was a scene as if there was no one in the store. As expected, I felt a little uneasy, thinking, ”Could it be again? Fortunately, customers began to gather around 10 minutes before the store opened, and the suspicion that the store was temporarily closed was dispelled. When it was time to open, the store was still open in a quiet manner. I was sitting closest to the entrance…oh well.

After entering the restaurant, I purchased a meal ticket from the ticket machine on the right. On the wall of this simple and plain restaurant, there were autographs of celebrities and athletes all over the place. According to the restaurant’s Tabelog, Takaesu Soba has a total of 51 seats, including 5 counter seats, but while I was waiting for my soba to be served, the empty seats were filling up at a fairly rapid pace. As I recall, there were about 10 people in line just before the restaurant opened… Since this was the case at 10:00 a.m., I would recommend visiting this restaurant early in the day if possible.

Actually, I made a big mistake in ordering… Yushi-dofu Soba (medium), Takaesu Soba’s signature dish, how was it really like when I tried it?

Let me introduce Takaesu Soba‘s signature dish, Yushi-dofu Soba, which I ordered on that day. There are three sizes: medium, large, and extra large, but I chose the medium size (800 yen including tax). After handing the ticket to the waiter, it took about 5 minutes for the original Yushi-dofu Soba to arrive in front of me, but at this time I realized that I had made a big mistake in my order…

Can you tell how big it is if you compare it to the size of the bamboo stick in the picture here? This Yushi-dofu Soba (medium) was so small. It was so small that it could easily fit in one hand, and it looked like it was for children, not women. I honestly thought, “This is not what I would expect from a medium-sized bowl…,” but there were samples of medium, large, and extra-large bowls next to the ticket vending machine. I simply overlooked this and made a huge mistake in ordering. I was so disappointed…

“Well, it’s no use worrying about the past,” I thought to myself, and let’s start with the soup stock… This soup stock is quite light. It seems that the broth is mainly made from pork and kelp, but I could hardly feel the broth, and if it were bad, I would have thought, “Is it just seasoned salt? “… that’s a bit of an exaggeration. I think it would be a very nice dish to finish before going to bed at night, or as a drink after waking up from sleep, but during the daytime, I wonder if it would not have enough impact. In fact, on the tabletop, there were… 

Shichimi chili pepper, Okinawan chili pepper liquor, and red ginger, but many customers put in a lot of red ginger before putting their mouths to it.

On the other hand, the noodles for this were flat, medium-thick noodles with a frizzy texture. These noodles are made by Terukina Noodle Factory, a popular noodle factory in the south-central part of Okinawa Island. In contrast to the broth, the noodles are boiled quite hard and have a strong impact, and their unique wave physically stimulates the inside of the mouth with a pull. The medium size of this soba is not large enough, but if it is large enough, you can enjoy the feeling of being in a Jiro or Jiro-inspired ramen.

Now, the toppings on this soba are quite gorgeous: chopped green onion, egg, pork, and yushi-dofu. The pork was cooked until very tender, and the tenderness of the pork was no less than that of chashu pork at a famous ramen restaurant in the city center. Then there is the main dish, yushi-dofu. It is one step softer than kinugoshi-dofu, and as you can imagine, it is fluffy and melty. But that is not what surprised me the most. The main thing is that the yushi-dofu is the main ingredient and the noodles are the sub…

The volume was originally small, and I finished the medium yushi-dofu soba of Takaesu Soba in less than five minutes. I left the restaurant regretting that I had ordered a large portion. With this lightly seasoned soup stock, I would like to eat yushi-dofu alone without noodles. If I have a chance to visit the restaurant next time, I will have yushi-dofu with rice….

Examples of other menu items at Takaesu Soba (prices include tax) 

• Soki Tofu Soba 1200yen 
• Nakami Tofu Soba 1200yen 
• Okinawa Soba (medium) 800yen 
• Soki Soba (medium) 950yen 
• Nakami Soba (medium) 950yen 
• Yushi-dofu (medium) 820yen without rice 
• Nakami Soup (medium) 820yen without rice 

Note: Large portion is +100yen, Extra Large is + Extra large can be ordered for 200 yen.

Take someone who knows it well at first, then keep going until you find your own taste… To get to Takaesu Soba, take Ryukyu Bus 99 bound for Ginowan Office from Asahibashi Station on the Okinawa Yui Rail, get off at Iso 3-chome bus stop, and walk 1 minute. 

I have seen that many of the locals add flavor modifiers to their soba before they eat it, which makes me wonder if it is best to enjoy it by changing the flavor to your liking at Takaesu Soba. Then again, if you are a loner like me and this is your first visit to the restaurant, you may end up not understanding the true charm of the place. So, especially at first, I think it is better to go with a local or someone who is familiar with the area and knows it well. And you should keep visiting until you find your own taste…something like that.

Now, here are the details of the restaurant…